


Let's Watch This Burn

by Honeywhisker



Series: Whumptober! [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Experimentation, Gen, Major Character Injury, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-25 17:48:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16202552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honeywhisker/pseuds/Honeywhisker
Summary: Continuation of The City Burns With Me.Niflheim gets their hands on all three pieces when they orchestrated the Fall of Insomnia. They took not just the Crystal but the Ring and abducted Noctis as well for their experiments into Magic.





	Let's Watch This Burn

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober day 4 is "No, stop" and I didn't really have a plan for this one so I just continued with day 3. Wanted to write something about how the Crystal was set up in Zegnautus cause they Lucians sure wouldn't have held it up like that and I wondered if there was a reason for that.

He was semi aware of the ride to Niflheim. He remembered the Emperor gloating through hazy eyes and the mocking words his command sent his way but all that really pulled through his consciousness was having a metallic collars clicked around his neck. 

He could feel the cold metal even now, it seemed to remain cold despite the heat from his body. Once it had been secured they dumped him in what must have been a storage room at some point. It was too small for anything else and he couldn't even lay down comfortably to try and ease the pounding in his head. Instead he curled up in a corner and tried to block out all the light and noise that was making this Wallbreaker Wave worse than it had to be. 

They arrived in Niflheim much too soon. It didn't feel like any time had passed at all to Noct, but as long as that red haze remained over everything he likely wouldn't be coherent for much of what happened.

He was carried to another small room, this one a stark gray with cameras set into the walls and protected by glass. That same glass covered one whole side of his new prison. He was dropped into that hehe room by an MT before the machine turned and shut the door. It was through that glass Noct could hear Aldercapt speak. 

“Is everything secure? I want to see for myself this great power.”

A man with a clipboard answered and returned to his workstation as several other people crowded about the room. It made Noctis dizzy just watching them. Everything was too much, too much sound, movement, talking, white. 

It seemed so simple for him. One click and the red in his vision disappeared. He could think clearly again, could reach out to his magic.

Now he could process what happened in Insomnia. They had killed his father. They destroyed his city, all under the pretense of peace. Anger welled in him at the thought of what Aldercapt had done. All for the Crystal. If the old man wanted magic that bad then Noctis would give it to him. 

There were several eyes on him as he stood straight, staring at him impassively. He watched then with eyes that had yet to fade from their glowing magenta. The Ring of the Lucii was set into some metal contraption that had more wires feeding into a giant data bank with more screens than Noctis cared to count. He thought he saw himself on a few of them.

“It seems our guest is finally ready to join us.”

Noctis growled at the man, his canine teeth just a little too sharp. He pulled on the Crystal, pulled on the magic he could feel just yards away from him still hidden in its protective casing. But not from Noctis. He felt it when the magic poured itself back into his veins. It burned but in a way that was comforting in its pain. The Crystal knew what had happened and wanted to avenge the Lucis Caelum line as much as Noct did. 

His body sparked white and he felt a heat from his chest. When he glanced down a white glow was shining from his body. He felt a power like nothing he'd had access to before. 

Someone outside scribbled a note while another explained the likely theory to the Emperor. They thought it was Noctis’ blood. That his body was subconsciously trying to protect itself. Noct wanted to scream there was nothing subconscious about this. 

“So he has the same power as his father. The Armiger, I believe they called it. Though this boy hasn't had a chance to collect any weapons it seems. Disappointing.”

Noctis felt his eyes go white as magic coursed through him and he summoned his engine blade. Now he saw alarm on their faces and someone turned a dial on their viewing station. He felt a tingle, like a static shock. When he pulled his arm back to throw his blade he felt the full electric shock run through him. Warping brought him a moment of peace as he disappeared but as soon as he reappeared, holding the handle of his sword now embedded in the glass he finally had to relent and fall to his knees. They watched him with wide eyes as he clawed at the collar around his throat. The techs scrambling over what to do as they had apparently turned the voltage as high as they could. 

“I think it's time to test your theory, Doctor. The Crystal reacted to him, but will he react to it. I want him down before we begin the next phase. Ready my Crystal.”

Noctis felt a flare of incredulous disbelief flow through him and it was enough to get him to plant a foot under himself and try to stand. The few still littered around his cell took a subconscious step back while others raced around the room to unlock the Crystal. The sight of his birthright helped soothe some of of the anger in him but it did nothing for the hurt. The thought of what he lost spurred him to his feet, the electricity running through him causing him to twitch but not sending him to the ground again. He grabbed the hilt of the engine blade right as the walls holding the Crystal hidden fell. 

The depths of the Crystal were also shining a bright light and he saw the Ring light up as well. He snarled and pulled at the engine blade, getting ready for another Warp Strike when he saw the first chain be fired. It was shot out of a large gun to the side of the room, a spear tip that was able to pierce through the shell of the Crystal. 

As the metal chain punched through the Crystal Noctis felt as though he'd been stabbed as well. He dropped immediately, his sword disappearing in a shower of Soul Shards. Blood came bubbling out of his mouth and he watched dimly as it splattered on the floor of his cell. 

He looked up with bleary eyes and saw another chain be shot. He didn't see the impact this time as much as felt it. A burning pain in his side that had him coughing on the floor. Blood started to leak from his nose as well and he felt a pressure building up in his chest. 

The third chain struck and Noctis started to flash repeatedly, trying to warp but not having the magic. Blue light and Soul Shards surrounded him until he finally wore himself out and reached Stasis. 

“No.” A fourth chain was being loaded to help hoist the Crystal up and as Noctis shivered in a pool of his own blood he could only watch helplessly as they fired away. He sent a quick prayer to any Astral that might listen and uttered a soft, pained, “stop.”


End file.
